Bodyform Responds: The Truth  : One of the most successful viral videos of 2012 (you only have to see the number of repurposed copies in Youtube search results to get an idea of its impact) and rightly so. After a silly and humorous Facebook comment was posted on Bodyform’s Facebook page by a man complaining about the unrealistic nature of the female sanitary product adverts, the company decided to post a video response from Bodyform’s CEO (played by an actress) who gives a hilariously-witty and sharp speech.

Route and Result: They were quick to react to the activity on their social platforms, showing that they’re listening to their customers and are able to respond in the similar medium, reaching an even wider audience and creating replicated content. And using a cleverly devised video (with smart editing, script-writing and straight-forward symbolism) and humour they defused a potentially costly situation that could have erupted from a silly issue, whilst making it highly viral. Nice one Bodyform.

INTRODUCING Holistic Marketing Window are weekly posts looking at ingenious Marketing Campaigns ideas that use:

• intelligent cross-platform social media strategies
• narratives that are carried through the clever use of technology to drive interaction
• that use a combination of complementary range of content and tech to reach wider audiences
• with powerful Call-To-Action directions (CTA’s)
• and general ingenious digital and offline creativity that has its audiences frothing at the mouth

Nike’s Brand Campaign competing during the Olympics.

Nike managed to overshadow their competing Olympics official sponsor (Adidas) by placing 100′s of strategic billboards and tube advertisements around the city, and using the hashtag #findgreatness by appealing to the ‘everyday athlete’ instead of the commercially chosen ones.

Tactics: Strong advertising campaign supported by social media out-reach and strong Hashtag phrase.

(N.B: Please note that a hashtag can support an ad campaign, but unless time, resources and content are applied to support the ad campaign as well, the hashtag can only go so far. Without reinforcements it can get lost in the noise, so don’t rely on a hashtag to make a campaign go viral.)

Reason & Results: Nike’s strategy gained more Facebook fans and tweets over the whole of the Olympic period (which includes before, during and after), than ‘Adidas’ did. The reason for this was for such a gargantuan event like the Olympics they made the audience a participant instead of just a passive spectator. Nike’s slogan was “Greatness doesn’t only exist in SW19″, reaching into the heart of the patriotic individuals. Adidas did however achieve a bigger social reach during the two-week Olympic period. This still doesn’t deter from the fact that Nike built in a brand legacy by focusing the campaign on attainable achievement for individual, riding the euphoric feeling of Britain’s personal Olympic success.

You can see the Statistics here

1. Don’t focus solely on self-promotion:

An obvious one but one that I feel still needs to be said. Don’t just talk about how wonderful your services are. People are engaging with content that they find interesting so give it an angle, much like PR.  You need to add value, show your platform to be a source of relevant and worthwhile informational content, and be subtle when talking about what your company does or offers.

2. Don’t turn your back on social interaction:

Especially if you’re a small business. Social media is about maintaining an active community and two-way conversation with like-minded advocates, fellow followers and your brand. Consumers often find social media to be the most efficient tool to express their ideas, questions or complaints about companies. Get involved and build in processes to pass this information on to the right people who can deal with it. The only exception to the rule is where the channel (within the platform) has been set-up for one-way informative soundbite updates for a solo specific purpose. For example, a legal court sending out updates on results from cases as they happen that day, because they can’t be seen to have an opinion.

3. Don’t share your content at random times, but do be consistent:

Timing is important in social media. Find out when your audience is most active or when they are more likely to appreciate your posts. Especially do not ignore weekends or non-business hours. Depending on the platform and the post, these hours could be the most interactive periods for you, where your posts will gain greater tract

4. Don’t ignore the many different ways of communicating:

The web runs on symbols – grouped characters (such as letters and numbers) forming words and data. But people are not algorithmic machines. You need to communicate with people in various communication mediums (Cognitive Communication), to engage with them on all communication levels. You can use images, videos, apps, games, contests, polls, infograph’s, photographs… the possibilities are endless, it just needs excellent imagination; good idea of the technology available; tried and tested common sense; and research (results from your metrics). Some mediums work better in particular platforms than others, for example, Facebook audiences loves the simplicity of imagery. Find the right way to communicate with your followers.

5. Don’t try to be everywhere all at once:

You just can’t manage them all of the time. You will be overstretching your people resources and over-promising to deliver interesting content consistently. Find out which platforms your target audiences are interacting on, and what they are interested in on that platform (‘the Why’- making your content relevant). You will also need to learn about the capabilities of the platforms, and the best social media management software for your needs. If you need to move fast do seek the help of someone who really knows their stuff, such as a tech savvy friend or, better still, a good social media consultant or freelancer. The former will know their stuff but only from their own needs and perspective so they could very well miss the value of a simple capability within a platform. Social media takes time to build results that help adapt a strategy, so speaking with someone who knows their stuff will save you an enormous amount of time and get you your ROI faster in the long-run.

- The Guild: one of the main pioneers of web shows. Actress and writer Felicia Day created this show after having worked in television for years. The Guild is about six characters who play an online video-game and their relationship on the online and the offline world. A project like this wouldn’t have ever got the green light on TV. But because of its niche audience, the web fostered this show and now has millions of regular viewers.

House of Cards: is an original show created by Netflix that first aired in Feb 2013. House of Cards was the first TV show to launch a whole season at once so that viewers can watch the episodes at their own pace. Netflix has been providing online streaming services for more than a year in the UK and Ireland but it has been available in America for over a decade. This means that the company has access to valuable data about viewers behaviour and understands what users want and are keen to find in the streaming platform.

Neil’s Puppet Dreams: is created by The Jim Henson Company and star’s Neil Patrick Harris (the one from ‘How I met your Mother’ American TV series) who also contributed to its creation. It first aired on The Nerdist Channel on November 2012 and has steadily built a cult following in a short time. It has a clear and unusual format in that the introduction sequence is as long as the show itself. It starts with Neil introducing himself in a set up scene with other actors, directly telling the audience “Hi, I’m Neil. I sleep a lot and when I dream, I dream in puppet.” He then promptly falls asleep and the short narrative begins.

Flat Whites: A weekly Australian comedy web series based around the interactions of men, women and sometimes coffee (now where have I heard that format before…..) Flat Whites has been going since 2011 and has slowly built a small but loyal following across Vimeo, Youtube and Facebook. Fact: Flat White is actually a variation of coffee beverage that was designed in Australia, hence the use of the term.

Web Therapy: Lisa Kudrow stars as a therapist who works with her patients through the use of online video-conferencing. Web Therapy is a ShowTime web series production, with high production values and a high-profile cast. But more than anything it is actually very funny (my personal opinion) and exemplifies how a web series of this style can work well within this medium. Below is a short example of how awkward pauses and struggling interpersonal play between Lisa Kudrow’s character (Fiona Wallice) and Meryl Streep’s character (Camila Bowner) highlight the hilarity of professional video-conferencing. C’mon, we’ve all been there.

Sadly we cannot watch access full episodes of Web Therapy here in the UK. It is only available for the US market, so far.

How they built their loyal Audience base:

The production values vary, but that’s not what made these series build a strong and loyal audiences base. Below is a list of points that helped increase the series reach and gain new interested followers.

• Designed for the Medium: (or most of them at least) The narratives are built to be watched in a browser, or on a phone or tablet, adding a new layer of context to the story, or the viewers emotional connection to the piece. For example, the feeling of intimacy through the use of camera angles, handheld camera shots, using technology with social technology for experiential effect.
• Reliable Consistency: Every week or month an episode is uploaded ready for consumption, and sometimes this means that there’s little time for editing perfection. It is easier to be more forgiving for little imperfections than it is to not turn up at all. Reliability goes a long way.
• Optimised: They all use Youtube or Vimeo to hold as well as promote their series, creating a dedicated channel to centralise the videos, for ease of use, subscription and an increase in their SEO ranking. Far better than uploadng videos to a sole application directly onto a site that gets few hits. (Does anyone really do this anymore?) Go to where you audience will find you.
• Socially Optimized: All the web series channels all carry links to their other social profiles related to either the series or the production companies, such as their Facebook page, website and twitter feed. (What I’d like to see is their Wiki pages connected as well.)
• Length: For the lower budget series, shorter episodes are easier to share. Without the higher-value aesthetics and high-profile actors, the less well-established web series need to engage the viewer in the first few seconds. You are also more likely to give your time to watch something for 5 minutes than 60 minutes. It is also easier to share on through email and social shares, increasing their viralbility.

Are there any Web Series that are worthy of a mention that I have missed? I’d love a new series to get my teeth into and see how they’re done it.

Financing a film or a tv show following a traditional model is a long and difficult process and production companies aren’t always willing to take risks, therefore, the web is an excellent playing field for creators to not only distribute their content but also communicate with their audience in a much more organic way.

Youtube Original Channels Initiative was a very important push for original content on the web and Google invested over 100 million dollars in this programme so that there could be a professional-looking catalogue for users to view. Some of these channels are hosted by popular celebrities such as Amy Poehler, Ashton Kutcher or Shaquille O’Neal and offer a wide range of content from sports to dance shows.

Press Pause Play is also a good documentary that analyzes the transformation of the digital revolution and how that has affected film makers, musicians or writers. The film includes dozens of interviews with recognized creators like Lena Dunham and Moby.

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On the next post, we’ll show some of the most popular and successful web shows that have been on for the last few years and how they’ve managed to find their audience online.

Until now, you were able to see what your Facebook friends were listening, their profiles, who their favourite artists and songs were and which playlists they had created or followed. Now Spotify lets you follow fellow users as well as artists. This way, musicians get to behave like other users, being able to share information and playlists with their followers and keep them up to date with their latest tunes or news.

This not only makes communicating with a new audience easier but opens the door to simpler integration with other apps such as Songkick or Soundrop. The data that Spotify collects through your interactions with others can be used to define music suggestions you receive and in turn receive more personalized information through its social features.

However, one thing that is missing is an actual News Feed where you can see what your followers have been doing or a section where you can get valuable information according to who you’re follow or what you’ve been listening to, since the lateral bar just lets you know what users are listening to in real time.

So are you a musical hermit or are you enjoying the new shared capabilities of Spotify?

Just like any other platform, your metrics will have to obey your performance and purpose. Ask yourself how much attention you’re paying to LinkedIn – Are you offering your products/services on your page? Are you updating it regularly? Who are your followers and what kind of information do they want to see? What kind of relationships do you want to create through your own business brand page?

LinkedIn business pages offer good ‘insights’ about visitors of the page that can help you hone your services/product listings and company profile. Its simplistic layout helps cut through the normal heavy sales text, simplifying the lead to sales offering.

You should be checking it at least monthly to see how people are clicking and engaging with it. LinkedIn also carries a high SEO ranking so having an active business page will increase traffic conversion. Just check your Googles analytics after a month of setting up your own brand business page.

When creating your metrics as part of your social strategy it’s important to keep the following factors in mind:

- Influence: Depending on your field, keywords and services, you will have to regular monitor to evaluate how well your brand is doing on LinkedIn’s internal search results. Report the number of impressions you get every month, along with follower and visitor demographics.

- Traffic: Another way to see if your brand profile is working is to see how many users land on your website after checking your LinkedIn profile by using Google Analytics.

- Interaction: Unlike other networks, LinkedIn business pages won’t return a lot of interaction, but the groups and questions will if constantly nurtured. However don’t dismiss the small interaction, all interaction is key in social media, no matter what platform. Collectively they work as a whole. Use the traffic and influence results to help guide what does and doesn’t work.

- Services: How much are users getting interested in what you have to offer? Monitor the number of clicks on your services and the impressions they get.

I have only just touched briefly on some of the new beneficial additions that LinkedIn has introduced.

LinkedIn has a lot to offer towards building good B2B relationships; turning leads into sales; and supporting a brands reach, as part of a social or integrated marketing campaign. If you would like to integrate LinkedIn with your marketing strategy, or learn how to better harness LinkedIn’s B2B capabilities please get in touch.

- Growth: Monitor how much your page is growing and how many followers you’re getting every month. However don’t get obsessed with it, they’re just numbers at the end of the day if no one is interacting. Depending on your industry, you may be targeting a niche tastes, which won’t be the same for other brands.

- Engagement (Interaction): Is your audience interacting with your content? If they aren’t this could mean your audience isn’t finding your content interesting and therefore your Facebook pages presence is not retaining as much attention as it should.

- Reach: This aspect is a consequence of the two above factors. The bigger your audience, the greater the organic viewing, the larger the viral viewing. The more that your audience interacts with your content, making it viral, the further your content will reach across personal profiles, gaining traction and increasing interest and the cycle starts again.

If you are using links to your website, make sure you use a URL shortener to track the traffic that Twitter is bringing to your site. That way you’ll be able to determine the effectiveness of your strategy. Some of the most popular tools for this are Goo.gl or Bit.ly

Here’s some apps and platforms that can help you with your Twitter metrics:

- Hootsuite: We already recommended this tool in our previous post for social management, but Hootsuite isn’t just a fine tool for managing your social platforms it is also a good way to measure your engagement, or rather see how effective your social activity is. It offers accurate metrics and connects with other tools such as Google Analytics and Facebook Insights. Nice.

- Tweet Reports: A paid tool that offers very effective results if you’re looking for a fine method to monitor your brand in social media. It also tracks keywords and followers habits, so it should be considered to contribute towards your social media strategy.

- Klout: This platform will give you a score based on your social interaction, your followers’ influence as well as being able to compare your ‘influence’ with other fellow Klout users. If you’re at an early stage in using social media, Klout is a good way to monitor your progress and see if you’re strategy is working.

During the following weeks, we will be reviewing how to measure your social media activity, and which applications and software to use for this.

In the meantime, here are some of the most popular social management applications you can use to simplify managing your many social profiles:

- Hootsuite: A must-have in the social sphere. It not only allows you to schedule your posts and manage all your different platforms but gives you very accurate and useful analytics from your posts. Hootsuite has also recently added Youtube, Statigram and SalesForce to its its app, giving an even more complete service. This is the app for marketers.

- Buffer: An app that finds out the best times to share content on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. By sending updates and links to the Buffer queue, the system will automatically schedule and post your updates at reactive intervals.

- TweetDeck: Very similar to Hootsuite, this is an app that organizes your multiple feeds and makes it easier for you to focus on the content you’re interested in. It also schedules your tweets and monitors your accounts. This app is for the hardcore Twitter advocates. Its design is slick and usage fast, and works well on mobile devices.

- Social Oomph: A social utility that integrates Twitter, Facebook and other social services and schedules the updates that you set for any of them. What it lacks in design and navigation it makes up for in practicality.

Each of the social management applications offer very similar capabilities. It essentially comes down to preference – what you want to do with it,  what details you want to measure, and what device you will use the application regularly on – mobile, tablet, laptop? You will need to try them out.

Can you suggest anymore that you have found useful that we haven’t mentioned?